Playing with a phenolic tip?

Claudiogs

Claudiogs

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Obsessed with the hardness of a cue tip I think I'll end up playing with a phenolic...

Do you know anybody that does?

Besides chalk retention, is there any other negative aspect about using them in a playing cue?

Can you get the same kind of english and draw using a phenolic?

I like hard tips because of the confidence they give me and the accuracy I feel... cause I have tried all kinds of softs and meds but I can't even control the strenght when I use those (much less the position where the cue ball is going to end)...

Anyone here has the same feeling?
 
They do play good- thats why

phenolic tips are illegal in all the leagues, bca apa Seminole - Most players can hear them a mile away. You could always use superglue to any leather tip- The hardest tip I ever played with , was a BK Hard, A leather break tip- PI players use them to play with too. Give madman tips a try!! Mark
 
I have to say that the phenolic tips are much better than the concrete and steel tips I've been using!
 
HollyWood said:
phenolic tips are illegal in all the leagues, bca apa Seminole - Most players can hear them a mile away. You could always use superglue to any leather tip- The hardest tip I ever played with , was a BK Hard, A leather break tip- PI players use them to play with too. Give madman tips a try!! Mark
Click to expand...

They are illegal only on break cues.. Playing with one is fine... I got clarification a few months ago because I play with one of the break tips like on the Bk2 on a Gibbs LD shaft or an actual BK2.... All phenolic tips are not the same... The tip from predator holds chalk pretty well and it is not overly prone to miscues if you maintain it from time to time with some sandpaper....

I have tried the samsara and a few other break tips but none of them have the bounce (COR) of the predator tip... I tried some other phenolics after I wore out the first BK2 tip I had before I knew you could get the actual predator tip from an authorized repair center..... None of the other phenolics seemed to have the same characteristics but I know there are way more grades of phenolic than I tried......

I got hooked playing with something called a future tip back in the 90s and the company went out of business so I just forgot about it when I ran out of replacement tips.... I loved the old moori but NOTHING compares to them on the market today IMHO.....

While my player was in for repair I only had the BK2 with me one night at the pool room and I realized very quickly that I could play at a very high level with it.... I think the first night I put 2 4packs on my practice partner with it along with a bunch of 2s......

Don't knock it until you have tried it... Just because he says phenolic doesn't mean it is the same material most of us are familiar with.....
 
I didn't know they are illegal for breaking! but that's because I don't live in the States... And I definitely didn't know about the diferent grades or kinds of phenolics..,

All I know by now is that I prefer playing with a very hard cue tip and I can't get used to a soft or a medium tip...

I will try those madman extra hard tips...

But as I expected, there are many others that can play with a phenolic tip to a high level! That's great!

And what about the tiger icebreakers? Are they really a mixture of leather and phenolic?
 
Claudiogs said:
I didn't know they are illegal for breaking! but that's because I don't live in the States... And I definitely didn't know about the diferent grades or kinds of phenolics..,

All I know by now is that I prefer playing with a very hard cue tip and I can't get used to a soft or a medium tip...

I will try those madman extra hard tips...

But as I expected, there are many others that can play with a phenolic tip to a high level! That's great!

And what about the tiger icebreakers? Are they really a mixture of leather and phenolic?
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it's only against the rules in specific organized tournaments. if you just play or gamble you're good.

didn't another az're on here used to only play with his BK2??? i think he posted a thread about it exploding on him when he broke with it. really stuck out in my mind because it was so odd. it can be done!
 
I destroyed the only icebreaker I tried... the leather is a core with a phenolic shell... Heard similar experiences from 2-3 others having the same thing happen.....
 
g10superpro0052.jpg


G-10 and superpro
 
One of my buddies was saying how he couldn't get action anymore and started telling people he'd play them with his sledgehammer.

He played damn near as well with it as his regular cue, so I believe it is possible to use one as a player.
 
HollyWood said:
phenolic tips are illegal in all the leagues, bca apa Seminole - Most players can hear them a mile away. You could always use superglue to any leather tip- The hardest tip I ever played with , was a BK Hard, A leather break tip- PI players use them to play with too. Give madman tips a try!! Mark
Click to expand...

Madman tips are BCA. legal, made out pig skin and cow hide.......
 
I use my jump cue in a local bar with walls too close to the table as a short stick. The jump cue does have a phenolic tip, and yes, you can get good amounts of english on the CB from such a hit.

However, I find that I can get a lot more english with a hard tip (81-ish on the durrometer) than I can with the phenolic (over 100 on the durrometer).

You could try an extra hard tip (86-ish) or an extra extra hard tip (92-ish) and still have more chalk retension and feel than the full hard phenolic.

All of these really hard tips require an exprecitly deliberate stroke--which does you game no harm at all.

So, you should investigate the seriously hard "normal" tip way before trying to play with a phenolic. {In my opinion.}
 
I played with my OB break cue for over a month and really started to like it. It made me play more center ball and I won several tournaments with it. I was also comfortable enough to gamble with it even if I was having to give up weight to good players. I play a guy all the time that got put into the bca masters 2 years ago and I give him the 8 with me still winning almost every time we play. He asked me to play and all I had was my break cue that I had been playing with and I still gave him the same spot and beat him just as easily as I usually did. My opinion if your a center ball player like I am using a hard tip is a good thing because you just use center ball to slide into position using natural angles and the harder tip gives you more action on your cueball with this type of shot. If you know anybody with an OB break cue or a BK2 just give it a try for about 10 minutes and I bet you will be surprised.
 
I watched SVB play a race to 3 for 3k in the pit at the SBE and you know what the spot was?? He had to play with a phenolic tip cue. Shane walked away from the table heavy on the hip. :cool:
 
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